Man who has been waiting two years for judicial approval for his euthanasia attempts suicide

BarcelonaFrancesc Augé, the man who has been waiting two years for euthanasia because a judicial appeal stopped it, is hospitalized after a suicide attempt last weekend. The Generalitat authorized the assisted death in August 2024, which the patient requested after three strokes and two heart attacks that left him with significant movement and speech impairments. Despite having the approval of the Guarantee and Evaluation Commission of Catalonia (CGAC), his request became stalled due to a judicial appeal filed by his father.

Now the family wants to withdraw from the proceedings, but they have not communicated this to the court, and the judicial path remains open pending a resolution, as reported by SER Catalunya. In fact, the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) has also specified that the contentious court handling the case has not received any document from the plaintiff notifying that they wish to withdraw the lawsuit, an essential move to stop the proceeding that has stalled the request of Francesc, who is now 56 years old.

Francesc's case motivated the first ruling by the High Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) regarding the fact that third parties can prevent a relative's euthanasia. The appeal escalated to the Supreme Court, which, with a non-unanimous decision, ruled that people with a "particularly close bond" with the patient have the right to intercede judicially against the decision of a person requesting euthanasia. In other words, being a relative would not be enough if there is no close relationship. With this resolution, the court responded to the underlying debate that also affected the case of Noelia Castillo, who at that time had already received assisted death after 20 months of litigation spurred by Abogados Cristianos.

Shortening the deadlines

Following these events, the government has asked the justice system for greater speed in resolving appeals that affect already approved euthanasias. The executive spokesperson, Sílvia Paneque, stated this Tuesday that the Generalitat "already did its job" when it endorsed assisted dying in 2024. "We think it is time for a reflection within the judiciary regarding the necessary speed in resolving these cases," said the minister.

The Spanish government spokesperson, Elma Saiz, has also spoken, saying she is confident that a law being processed in Congress will be approved to shorten judicial deadlines when dealing with appeals against an already approved euthanasia, just as the Supreme Court requested after ruling on the Francesc case. The minister described this bill as a regulation "to prevent third-party appeals from blocking a highly personal right, a tremendously painful situation".

This legislative proposal was promoted by the Parliament and reached Congress after the death of Noelia Castillo, who waited for euthanasia for almost two years due to the appeals filed by her father, advised by Abogados Cristianos. This Tuesday, the Minister of Health, Mónica García, assessed that it is a "necessary" reform and trusts "that it can move forward".